Man Detained For Declaring Jihad Against Kyrgyz President

Kyrgyz authorities say a man has been arrested on suspicion of declaring jihad, or Islamic holy war, against President Almazbek Atambaev.

The State Committee for National Security said that the suspect, whose name was not made public, was arrested on August 24.

Officals said an operation to capture the suspect, who was born in 1990, was launched after a video message titled “Declaration Of Jihad Against President Atambaev" started circulating on the Internet in June.

The video accuses Atambaev of violating norms of Shari'a Islamic law.

It cites the president's alleged veneration of Kyrgyzstan's national folk hero Manas and his support for the erection of a monument to Manas.

The suspect is accused of making "public calls for violent subversion of the constitution and incitement of ethnic, racial, religious, and interregional hatred."